Abstract
Excerpt: The difference between the seething realm of Islamic State (IS) and the relatively safe and democratic region of Iraqi Kurdistan is a stark one. Assuming that the combined humanitarian and military reinforcements the West is mustering will repel the threat, what next? If the Kurdish region is to be more than a nation-sized refugee camp and if the West is to salvage any real toehold of security in the Iraq region, Kurdish independence is the only answer.